The Modern World Racial System

Abstract

As THE WORLD LURCHES FORWARD INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, there is widespread confusion and anxiety about the political significance, and even the meaning, of race. In this chapter I argue that, far from becoming less politically central, race defines and organizes the world and its future, as it has done for centuries. I challenge the idea that the world, as reflected by the national societies I compare, is moving “beyond race.” I suggest that the future of democracy itself depends on the outcomes of racial politics and policies as they develop in various national societies and in the world at large. This means that the future of democracy also depends on the concept of race, that is, the meaning that is attached to it. Contemporary threats to human rights and social well-being—including the resurgent dangers of fascism, increasing impoverishment, and massive social polarization—cannot be managed or even understood without paying new and better attention to issues of race. This chapter attempts to provide a set of conceptual tools that can facilitate this task.